What Ales You?: Warsteiner Verum

Monthly Feature
Wayne and Leah give us the skinny on beer.

Gutentag Mighty Rib Readers, we're back again with another installment of What Ales You. In honor of Oktoberfest in Germany, we decided to review a German beer, in this case, Warsteiner Verum.

Granted, the German Oktoberfest is over by the start of the actual month of October, but damn it the name is Oktoberfest and we are in October. Anyways, Warsteiner Verum is the beer of the month.

Apologies in the case that we prove our ignorance on the topic of beer, for some of our commentary might seem elementary, but we're going to take this monthly entry more as a learning experience. Feel free to correct any uneducated statement on the background and research that we might provide on the beer of the month, some is going to come from the likes of Wikipedia, which can be an amazing resource, but at times, can be an inaccurate citation. One thing we've already learned is that there are many varieties and types of beer out there. Our beer of the month, Warsteiner Verum, is a premium German Pilsner beer. Pilsner can be considered a type of beer, however, to some beer organizations, it is more of a marketing description for many modern brewers. The term Pilsner and Pilsner beers originated in the Czech republic and it is generally acceptable to say that a Pilsner is a pale lager.

Overall Taste
Germany is oft considered one of the best beer producing countries in the world, and is known for their lagers. Apparently the proud German brewers stick to the Reinheitsgebot (purity order) for their beers, which is a good thing. With many contemporary brewers moving towards more complex ingredient sets and taste combinations, it is often difficult to find a simple, crisp, quality lager.

Wayne's Take
I really like Warsteiner Verum, it had a certain crispness, no skunky smell was present and there was no poor aftertaste. There was an adequate amount of hoppy flavor. It's my belief that sometimes brewers believe that because one of the ingredients of beer is hops, that the more the better. I don't agree with that, as too many hops overburdens the taste. Warsteiner had just the right hint of hoppiness.

Meal Pairing
I wish I could say that the first meal pairing that came to mind would be bratwurst and red cabbage, but that would be too easy and frankly it wasn't the first thing that came to mind. I would also loved to have described drinking a Warsteiner whilst sitting in a lovely autumnal biergarten and enjoying the briny salty taste of a traditional German meal, but again, it wasn't the thought that came to mind. I thought that Warsteiner Vellum definitely had a distinctive pleasant taste, but not an overly overpowering one, therefore, it would go very well with a meal that had a distinctiveness about it, but also wasn't overpowering. I think a Persian kabob, with traditional Persian rice would be the perfect complement for this German lager. I know its sounds a little off, but Persian cuisine does have a distinctive taste, but is also not intrusive.

Leah's Take
This is an enjoyable beer. The lighter color belies a good depth of flavor, and it somehow seems "old world-ey", but that may just be the power of suggestion given the traditional label. Its certainly one of those beers that needs to be served very cold in my mind... while you're hiking in Bavaria...in Lederhosen...singing "Climb Every Mountain"....

Meal Pairing
I would drink Warsteiner with something nice and salty like a soft pretzel or some nachos. Its got a strong enough taste that even if there was a bit of spice in the food you could still tell it was beer and not carbonated water, but is crisp and would cut through earthy/salty pairings.

Summary
Wir haben Wersteiner gern. Du sollst dieser Bier kaufen. Gemutlichkeit!!